Her Love, His Promise
by Eighth Swordsman of the Mist
Summary: It's been three weeks since the defeat of the Zombie Duo, Hidan and Kakuzu. The Elders caught wind of the battle and have pushed Tsunade into making a decision she fears she will regret. Now, she forms a plan into sending our hero, Naruto, to the Fiore Kingdom. How will our hero fare in this new world? Take the plunge with Naruto and enjoy! This is strictly a Naruto/Erza pairing.
1. Introductory Arc: Chapter 1

**A/N: Well I've had this idea in my head for awhile now and I finally decided to get off my lazy butt and start writing it down. I was inspired by the story _Her Shield, His Sword _by Kyu No Ken so I hope that the author doesn't mind me using their story as a template for this one. I highly recommend that you read _Her Shield, His Sword_ as it is a wonderful and very well told story. A heads up on this story, the pairing is going to be Naruto/Erza so if you don't like it, then don't read it. Ah, one last thing. This is my first fan-fiction as well as a crossover. So, constructive criticism is warmly welcomed. I aim to do my best and I hope my readers will enjoy this story and help me correct any mistakes that I make. After all, we're only human and we're bound to make mistakes. Anyway, enough of my babbling and onto the story. Enjoy everyone!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail. Both belong to their respective owners.**

_**Her Love, His Promise.**_

_**Chapter One**_

_**Begin.**_

Tsunade sat at her desk in the Hokage's Office massaging her temples as she tried to rid herself of a terrible headache. It had been three weeks since Team Asuma and Kakashi Hatake had engaged the zombie duo Hidan and Kakuzu. Three weeks since Naruto used his new jutsu, the Rasenshuriken, to defeat Kakuzu. And two weeks since the elders caught wind of the battle and held an emergency meeting to determine the 'safety of Konoha'. Oh yes, Tsunade had just _enjoyed_ these past few weeks. The elders made certain of that for her. To top it off, she is on her last bottle of sake. She remembered back to when the elders had called the emergency meeting. How they wished to protect Konoha by sending the demon child away to avoid a possible invasion by Akatsuki. Of course, as any surrogate mother would do for her child, she promptly smashed her desk with a slam of her fist and told the elders off. That only made things worse as they enforced their decision to send Naruto away leaving no more room for argument. Either she had to send him away or they would. At least if she did it, she would have control over where and who Naruto went with. Still, that didn't make her feel any better as she felt that she had failed Naruto as a mother. She had even once considered adopting the boy as he held all of hope, love and dreams. She smiled softly as image of Naruto sitting where she was as Hokage entered her mind. Yes, if anyone was going to be Hokage, it would be him. After all, he had already won the position when he convinced her to comeback to the village. She just hadn't told him yet. She wanted him to still think that he had to work to become Hokage instead of thinking it was being given to him. If he did that, there was no doubt in her mind that he would surely surpass his own father. Tsunade's train of thought was interrupted as a popping sound along with a small cloud of smoke filled her office. She didn't need to look up to see who it was. After all, she had personally requested his presence.

"Well, well, to what do I owe the honor of being personally summoned by Tsunade-hime?" Asked a man with long spiky white hair that stretched down his back and wearing sagely clothes.

Tsunade sighed as she glared up at her friend and old teammate. "Shut up, Jiraiya! I don't have time for your antics. This is serious as it involves Naruto and I need your help and advice."

Jiraiya straightened up at the mention of his godson and took note of her tone of seriousness. He looked into her brown eyes and saw pain, regret and sadness. A silence filled the room for a minute until Jiraiya broke it with the obvious but fair question.

"What wrong, Tsunade?" He asked with concern in his voice. Tsunade looked down at the mountains of paper work that covered her desk and found a particular one interesting. She stared at it for a few moments and sighed before handing it to Jiraiya. He took the paper slowly and read it over, scanning it of its contents and what it meant. After he finished, he turned his attention to her.

"He's not going to like this and you know that." Jiraiya deadpanned. He immediately regretted what he said as Tsunade slammed her fists down on the her desk. and glared at him with fire in her eyes. If looks could kill, Jiraiya was sure he be dead.

"Of course he's not going to like it! How do you think I feel?!" She roared with distress in her voice. Tsunade sighed again as she leaned forward and began massaging her temples as she felt another headache coming on.

Jiraiya continued to look at her as he finally understood what was bothering her. "Do you have a plan on what you're going to do?"

"I might have one but I'm not sure it will work." Jiraiya raised a quizzical eyebrow as he suddenly took interest in her idea. "Well?" He prompted.

"I felt that maybe if I simply masked the whole situation as an S-rank mission he would take it without suspecting anything." She speculated. Jiraiya thought for a moment before he raised the question that would come next.

"Where would he go and who would go with him then?" Tsunade sighed as she looked back up at her old friend. "That's what I need your help with. I have no idea where we would send him to hide for the duration of the mission." A light bulb soon clicked in her head as her eyes widened at the choice. "Wait, what about Mt. Myoboku? Would that work.?"

Jiraiya bit his lip as he turned and suddenly found a chair in the corner suddenly interesting. "Maybe," he sighed. "I could train him to learn senjutsu there, but I don't think he's ready just yet. Even if I did and he finishes his training, we could run the risk of him finding out if the elders decide they don't want him back yet." Tsunade scoffed at the statement.

"Of course those damn elders wouldn't want him back! As soon as he leaves, they'll do everything they can to keep him away from the village while all the villagers celebrate his absence! I can't believe this is actually happening. To think that everything Naruto has done for this village is completely ignored by almost everyone because he is a jinchuriki. It makes me sick to think that barely anyone can see past the fact that he is a jinchuriki and see him for who he really is." Jiraiya nodded silently in agreement with her.

"What would happen if you don't send him off?" Jiraiya asked curiously.

"The elders would take charge of the situation and more than likely hand him off to Danzo." Tsunade stared right into Jiraiya's eyes as she said the next part. "And we both know what would happen if the bastard got his hands on Naruto." Jiraiya grimaced at that as he imagined what would happen to Naruto in the hands of the old war hawk. There was a few minutes of silence before an idea struck Jiraiya. He slowly turned to Tsunade but did not meet her gaze as he did. She raised an eyebrow at his actions and figured he hand an idea.

"What is it, Jiraiya?" She spoke with a cold tone in her voice that complemented the seriousness of the situation at hand.

"I...may have an idea, but it's a long shot. It may not even work." Tsunade cast aside the warnings and told him to continue. "Tsunade, have you ever heard of a place called Fiore Kingdom?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him at first, but soon widened them when she realized what he meant.

"No... you don't mean..." Jiraiya nodded as to confirm her question. Tsunade looked down at her desk as her mind wondered at the possibility of what would happen if they succeeded in their plan. She once again slammed her fist down on her desk looked up at Jiraiya with resolve in her eyes.

"Jiraiya! If what you say is true, then leave immediately to find a way to get him there. Once you do, come back and inform me. I will then draw up the mission details and requirements." Jiraiya bowed respectively before he body flickered away to Mt. Myoboku. Tsunade sighed as she stood up from her chair and walked over to the window that overlooked the entire village. _"Naruto..."_ She thought. _"Please forgive us for what we're about to do." _Tsunade sighed as she spotted a teen with sun-kissed blond hair. Wearing an orange and black jacket with orange pants and a blue weapons pouch was wrapped around his right leg. A black forehead protecter was, of course, wrapped around his forehead with the ends fluttering behind his head. He walked around the village casually, not expecting the least of what was soon to happen. It pained Tsunade think about what she was going to do to him. A tear streamed down from her left eye as she stared down at the un-expecting blond. She wiped the tear away on her sleeve as she sat back down at her desk and began to think of the details that she would draw up for the 'S-rank mission'.

**A/N: I finally got it down and written! Remember everyone, this is my first fan-fiction so I hope that I did well. Constructive criticism is always welcomed but please don't flame me too bad if you don't like it. I will hopefully get the next one written and updated soon so look forward to it! Until next chapter everyone! P.S. Sorry that this chapter is short. I'll work on making them longer next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's the second chapter everyone! As usual, I hope you all enjoy it and constructive criticism is welcome. Again, this is a Naruto/Erza pairing for those of you who missed the first warning in chapter 1. I was surprised at how fast I started gaining reviews and favorites that I decided to start the second chapter. So, with out further delay, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

_**Her Love, His Promise.**_

_**Chapter 2**_

_**Begin.**_

We find our young, blond hero, Naruto Uzumaki strolling through the village with his hands behind his head. He took a deep breath and stared up at the cloudless, blue sky. A smile graced his lips as he thought of his plans for training today. "Right!" He exclaimed. "Let's make today a good training today!" Naruto punched the air upwards before gather chakra in his feet and taking off rather silently.

As Naruto raced across the rooftops of the buildings in the village, he couldn't help but think about finally being able to use the Rasengan with out the use of a clone. Jiraiya had instructed him to start working on it after his arm had healed from the Rasenshuriken. Currently, Naruto was able to make the Rasengan with the same amount of power as he could when he was a kid. That was only with a few days of training. His grin further increased as his imagination wondered at what kind of new techniques he could form with a completed Rasengan. He could already see all of the positive aspects of being able to make it without the handicap of a clone. Naruto turned his attention back to the rooftops only to see brick wall in his vision a half-second before his vision turned black and pain spread all throughout his body.

Sakura Haruno was enjoying her afternoon tea after a long day of studying medicine textbooks that Tsunade had assigned her to read over before the end of the week. She was just about to take another sip of her tea before a vibration shook her apartment. She jumped off her couch that she was relaxing in and slid into a defensive stance as her eyes darted around the room to see where the intruder was. After a moment of silence she began to hear what sounded like a muffled moan that came from behind a wall near a window. She curiously walked over to her window and opened it. She stuck her head outside where the sound of the city and a cool breeze greeted her. She looked left only to find nothing. She turned to her right and was surprised at the sight she found. There the sight of one Naruto Uzumaki splattered up on her apartment wall, moaning. She sighed and shook her head at the sight of her blond teammate and best friend.

"Naruto...what are you doing her?" She asked. The blond moved for a second, nearly falling of the wall, and looked at her.

"Ah, you know, just hanging around Sakura-chan." She chuckled at the blonds antics before commenting.

"Baka." She replied offhandedly. "So, Sakura-chan, what are you doing here?" Sakura sweat dropped at the blond's question. "I live here Naruto. I'm pretty sure I've told you that at least five times now." Naruto looked at her for a few moments with confusion in his eyes before they widened in realization.

"Oh yeah, that's right you do live here! I can't believe I forgot that." He chuckled at her nervously. "Well, I better get going! See you later Sakura-chan!" He gave her his trademark fox smile before jumping off the wall and onto a different rooftop.

Sakura smiled as she watched him dashing across the rooftops to where ever he was going to. Truthfully, even though she would never admit it, she couldn't ask for a getter best male friend than him. He had always been there for her, telling her that she was beautiful and supporting her in her time of need. Something that Sasuke had never done for her in the time he was in the village. The blond was more or less of a constant in her life. He was her pillar of support. She would even admit that if he were to ever leave her like Sasuke did or even died, she feared that she would never get over him. She didn't love the blond in the romantic sense, but couldn't imagine her life without his presence in it. He was truly as god given child with that big heart of his and unwavering loyalty to his friends and precious people. She hoped that he would find a wonderful woman to settle down with someday; any woman would be lucky to have him as a boyfriend or husband. She even promised him without his awareness that she would personally pound any woman that dared to break his heart.

Jiraiya had just arrived at Mt. Myoboku and body flickered next to an un-expecting Fukasaku. Fukasaku jumped at the sound of the jutsu and spun around to come face to face with Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya-chan! I didn't expect you. What brings you here? Oh, are you here to talk about training Naruto-chan to use senjutsu?" Jiraiya chuckled at the questions the old toad bombarded him with as he arrived. He held up his hand to both greet and stop the bombardment of questions.

"Hello there, Pa. It's good to see you too. And no, I'm not here to discuss training Naruto to learn senjutsu. Not yet, anyways. However, this does involve Naruto." Jiraiya then narrowed his eyebrows and his body language along with his voice took a tone of seriousness. "Pa, I'm going to need to see that scroll again. I'm going back _there_." Fukasaku looked at him with a confused expression. He silently gave the impression for Jiraiya to elaborate on it.

"I'm talking about the reverse summoning scroll that I screwed up on one time and transported myself to Fiore." He explained.

Fukasaku nodded in understanding, but then stared at him confusedly again. "But Jiraiya-chan, why would you want to go back there? I thought you made a mistake transporting yourself there the last time.?"

"I did. However, this time around is different. This time I need to go there for a reason and talk to an old friend of mine about helping Naruto."

"I see. Hold on just a moment and I'll go grab it." Fukasaku hopped away leaving Jiraiya to think about how he would ask his old friend to help Naruto. He realized then that he would have to edit the failed reverse summoning scroll. Fukasaku soon returned with a large scroll in hand. He laid it out and opened it on the ground for Jiraiya. Fukasaku excused himself to leave Jiraiya alone so that he may concentrate on the scroll without interruption. A few hours later with many failed attempts at the scroll and enough cruses that would make a sailor proud, Jiraiya finally got the right one down smiled at his handiwork. He told Fukasaku to have a reverse summoning scroll ready for him to be summoned when he wanted to return. With that, he remembered to grab a new, signed copy of _Icha Icha Tactics _and transported himself to the Kingdom of Fiore.

Makarov Dreyar sat on the bar in the Fairy Tail Guild with a beer in hand while observing one of the guild's infamous fights. He wore a white shirt with a black Fairy Tail stamp that was covered by an orange hoodie. His shorts were orange and he wore an orange and blue striped designed jester hat. He couldn't help but let out another long sigh at the amount of paper work that had been piling up over the days due to the guild's tendency for collateral damage. He looked down at the rest of his drink before downing the rest of it in one go. A slim, young woman around sixteen years of age came by his side and refilled his drink. Her long, white hair which curls at the ends, with two bangs framing her face and reaching down to her chest complemented her attire consisted of a sleeveless, ankle-length maroon dress with a pleated skirt. She gave him another cheerful smile as she handed him his now refilled drink. This young beauty in Makarov's -along with everyone else's- opinion is Mirajane Strauss. (**A/N: This takes place soon after Lisanna's ****supposed ****death.)**

"What's the matter Master? Did you have another long day?" She asked sweetly while she refilled another member's drink.

Makarov let out yet another long sigh at the statement and motioned over to the brawl in the middle of the guild. "These brats keep on doing finding more ways to give me paper work than I can finish them. Especially that Natsu." He said dryly. As he said that a lean, muscular fifteen year old with spiky, pink hair threw a black haired teen that was striped of all his clothing, except his boxers, over the bar and into a wall.

"Natsu! You flame head, I'm going to get you for that!" The black haired teen roared at said teen.

"Gray, your clothes." A young girl long, brown hair deadpanned. The supposed teen named Gray looked down and his eyeballs nearly bulged out of their sockets.

"Gah! Where did they go this time?!" Gray looked around frantically for his clothing that he couldn't remember taking off. As he did, a sharp whistle caught his attention and he turned to find Natsu holding his shirt with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Dammit Natsu, give it back!" Gray exclaimed. He jumped over the bar and charged Natsu and tried to tackle him only for Natsu to side-step him. Natsu began to laugh uncontrollably as Gray missed him by a long shot and crash into a nearby guild member. Gray shot back up and managed to grab onto Natsu and the two wrestled for dominance. A sixteen year old girl clad in armor that went down to her skirt walked over to the struggling boys. Both boys didn't notice her until she grabbed both their heads and slammed both of them together. Everyone in the guild ceased their bantering and fighting as Erza Scarlet looked at the scene around. She shook her head before she began calling on members individually and reprimand them for their actions on missions. Just as she finished scolding everyone the guild doors swung open and a man none of them had seen walked inside. Erza took note that he examined the entire guild and its members. Every time he would look at a female he would give her a once-over before smiling and letting out a small perverted giggle. He was a tall man with waist-length spiky, white hair and two red lines that ran down from his eyes with what seemed to be a horned forehead protecter. He was adorned in a green short shirt kimono and matching pants; under which he wore mesh armor that showed out of the sleeves and legs of his outfit.

"Who the hell are you?" Natsu deadpanned. The man grinned as he struck a pose with one arm extended in front of him and the other back with his hand in his fist.

"From a land far away, I am the traveling hermit and super-pervert, the great Toad Sage JIRAIYA!" He exclaimed. Everyone sweat dropped at his dramatic self-introduction and a few of the females, including Erza herself, fumed at the fact that he was a pervert, a super one nonetheless. Makarov hopped of his seat on the bar and made his way over to Jiraiya. When Jiraiya took notice of his presence he straightened up a bit and grinned down at the little man. The two at one another for a few moments before smiling and shaking each others hand.

"Jiraiya! Welcome back! It's been too long since you last visited us. How have you been these past years?" He asked.

Jiraiya grinned down at the little and old guild master of Fairy Tail before responding. "It's good to be back, Makarov and it's only been about ten or so years. As for me, I've been traveling around, gathering material and researching for my new book that I just happened to finish." One could literally see stars in Makarov's eyes as he looked like a little boy waiting to be given a present. Jiraiya pulled out a book from his kimono and handed it to Makarov who now had hearts in his eyes. "It's even autographed by yours truly." He said proudly.

"You are truly one of THE best writers to ever come to our land, Jiraiya-sama. I can't express my gratitude for you bringing this wonderful series to us. If you need anything from me than I'll gladly help you to the best of my ability!" Jiraiya chuckled at his friend's praise before looking at him sternly.

"Actually, I was hoping you could help me with something. I have a student of mine that I was wondering if you could watch over for a while." He spoke seriously. Makarov immediately took notice of the way Jiraiya spoke and looked at him for a few moments. Tension filled the guild hall as one could easily see a silent conversation going on between the two men. Makarov finally nodded his head in understanding as he motioned for Jiraiya to follow him into his office. As the door to Makarov's office closed, some casual conversations picked back up while others whispered about the man named Jiraiya. Erza replayed the conversation through her mind as she began to pick out important bits and pieces to the puzzle. Obviously the two new each other quite well and held both in respect. What she was most curious about was the student of Jiraiya's that might be coming to their guild. Her train of thought was broken by Natsu's voice.

"Well that was just...weird." He said.

"You have a point there, fire head." Gray agreed. Natsu immediately began butting heads with Gray at the comment.

"What did you say, ice cube?!" He growled.

"You heard me, dragon breath!" Gray countered.

"Popsicle stick!" Natsu argued. Erza sighed as she went over and reprimanded the two teens before another brawl could break out. As the two fell to the floor with swirls in their eyes, Erza glanced over at Makarov's office where the two old men were talking. She couldn't shake the feeling that something big was soon to happen.

A calm silence filled Makarov's office as both Jiraiya and Makarov sat there. Jiraiya was sitting in a chair in front of Makarov's desk while Makarov himself was seated behind it. Both men stared at each other respectively before Makarov broke the silence.

"So, you were wanting me to look after a student of yours? I remember you had one- what was his name again? Oh yeah, Minato Namikaze wasn't it? Speaking of which, how is he?" He asked.

Jiraiya grimaced when Minato's name was mentioned. He took a breath before explaining to Makarov. "Minato is dead." He stated. Makarov looked at him shocked before his eyes softened. "I'm sorry to hear that, Jiraiya." He said sympathetically. Jiraiya waved a hand dismissively before continuing. "Who I need you to look after is his son, Naruto Uzumaki. The boy has had a very rough life and has never known the love of a family. He has some very good friends, but I think he needs to know what the difference is between family and friends are." Jiraiya locked his gaze with Makarov. "And I think you will be able to give him that. Fairy Tail will be able to give him the love and feel of what it means to belong in a family."

Makarov nodded in understanding at his request. "I understand, Jiraiya. I'll gladly take the boy in for the time being. Though, I hope you don't mind me asking as to what made you have made this request. You've already explained to me that he's never had any sort of family, that I get, but I can't help the feeling that there might be more to this." Makarov raised an eyebrow as his friend sighed before looking at him and giving him an explanation.

"Your wise to see that there is more to this than just that. You see, about three weeks ago Naruto fought two men from an organization that have been hunting people like him for awhile now. They are called Akatsuki. Akatsuki's members are incredibly dangerous S-rank criminals from various villages that have all gathered together to hunt and collect the bijū. The bijū are demons of immense power that humans cannot even begin to fully comprehend. Because of their great and destructive, humans wanted that power to be able to wield in battle. So, over the centuries, humans have found a way to seal these demons inside of them. The people that contain a bijū are known as jinchūriki and Naruto is one of them. Now this leads me to why I need to watch over him. Our elders have thought it 'wise' to send him away so that there isn't a risk to Konoha being invaded by Akatsuki. If you ask me, the idiots have been wanting to do it for years and now they have a reason to. Now, I ask you as a friend, will you help me by watching over him?" Jiraiya had a pleading look in his eyes that Makarov could see. Makarov didn't need to think twice about his decision in the matter. Makarov smiled at his old friend and nodded his head.

"I will gladly take him in and keep and eye on him for the time being." Jiraiya's face brightened at the agreement and couldn't help but smile.

"I sincerely thank you, old friend. You have my and the Hokage's thanks for watching over him." Jiraiya stood up from his chair and bowed respectively at Makarov. As he made his way to the door, a thought occurred to him that he forgot to mention.

"Oh yes, one more thing." Makarov turned his attention back to Jiraiya. "Naruto can be a bit unpredictable at times and he does sometimes complain about a few things, but when he's serious he can be a hard worker. He also has the biggest heart I know and has this strange but good ability to be able to make friends we people almost instantly. Just keep a very big supply of ramen and some good jobs and everything will be okay." Makarov chuckled at his friend's request before nodding his head.

"I will, now go and get the boy and bring him here." Jiraiya bowed once more before leaving the office. As he walked out he almost bumped into a red hair girl wearing armor with a skirt and black boots. He almost made the mistake of calling her Kushina before he caught himself. He gave her a once-over before smiling and chuckling while he shook his head.

Erza was confused as to why the man was laughing at her. She had to restrain herself from pounding him for being a pervert and laughing at her. "What's so funny, is it my red hair?" She growled. She eyed him suspiciously while he looked at her for a second before laughing out loud.

"No, no. You just remind me so much of a person I once knew." He reassured. Jiraiya was then struck with an idea and he turned back to Makarov. "Excuse me, Makarov. I have one last request before I leave." Makarov looked at him with a raised eyebrow, prompting him to continue. "I was hoping that when my student arrives here this beautiful, young lady would show him around and maybe take him on a few missions to help him get use to the way things work around here. That wouldn't be too much of a problem, now would it?" Erza blushed at the comment of being called beautiful. Hardly anyone had called her that without being afraid of her. She also began wondering who this student of Jiraiya is as she now learned that he is a boy. Makarov noticed Erza's actions before a grand smile graced his lips and nodded.

"Of course, Jiraiya-sama! Anything for my old friend." He replied happily. Said sage gave a hearty laugh as he waved dismissively and left. The guild fell into silence as they all watched the Toad Sage walk through the guild hall and out the doors. Only to continue their usual behavior after he left. Erza turned back to the guild master and gave him an eye as to why she had to be the one to show Jiraiya's student around. Makarov only sighed before walking up to her and looking in her eyes.

"Master, I don't understand as to why I have to be the one to show him around. Please explain to me your decision in the matter." Makarov only sighed once again before explaining his reasoning to her.

"Erza, my reason for my decision is simple. It's my choice and Jiraiya's wish. So don't scare him off, now. You need a friend who isn't afraid of you. Besides, I have a feeling that he could be a good boy for you." He raised his eyebrows suggestively a few times at her before she caught his meaning and her entire face turned the same color as her hair.

"I-I understand, Master. I-I'll just show him how things work here and be g-good f-friends with h-him." She stuttered. Makarov could only laugh at her response before shaking his head and walking out of his office.

Tsunade gulped down the rest of her sake before slamming it down on her desk. She let out a loud sigh as she refilled her lungs with oxygen. Her normal headache that she got from doing paper work had only increased as the elders had yet again pushed her to make her decision soon. She wished that Jiraiya would finish whatever he was doing soon. They were running out of time and Naruto was completely unaware of it all. If they were too late and the elders took matters into their own hands, then Naruto would most likely suffer a horrible fate.

"_Dammit, Jiraiya. Where they hell are you?! We are running out of time!"_

It was then that her miracle arrived in a puff of smoke and all his a stood with that big, stupid grin of his.

"There you are! Where have you been?! Do you know how much time we have left before we're too late?!" She shouted furiously at him. Half of it was because they were indeed running out of time. The other half was because she just ran out of sake.

"Rest assured Tsunade-hime. I come bearing good news for us and Naruto." Her eyes widened at him and she couldn't help but smile when she noticed he still had that big, stupid grin of his.

"_Seriously," _she thought._ "Between the two of them, both Naruto and Jiraiya have THE most stupidest grins but the most infectious ones, too._ She nodded her head and allowed her teammate to continue.

"I've already spoke to an old friend of mine in that dimension that would gladly watch over him for the time being. He should get along great there and finally have a family he could call his. To tell you the truth, I'm tempted just to leave him over there saying there is no way home and he's stuck for life. That way he'll be able to have what he's been denied for all these years." Tsunade could only smile as she could only imagine Naruto's life in this new world. She shooed Jiraiya before bowed and body flickered away. Tsunade pulled a piece of paper out and began drawing up the details for the S-rank mission. After an hour of swearing that would have made a sailor gasp and crumpling up dozens of paper, she finally finished writing the mission and had one more thing to do.

"SHIZUNE! Get in her double time! Pronto!" She roared.

The door to the Hokage's Office swung open with a bang and Shizune dashed into the room and stood at attention.

"H-Hai! What do you need, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune spoke frantically.

"Shizune, I need you to go and fetch Naruto for me. I have a very important mission for him and only him.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune speed out of the office and closed the door just as quickly as she came. Tsunade let out a long sigh as she leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. A small smile graced her lips as she imagined how happy Naruto would be during his time in Fiore.

**A/N: Finally finished and done. This is the longest thing I've written. Also, the next chapters won't be quite as long as this one. Oh and I'll be leaving on vacation so I won't be able to post any new chapters soon. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and story so far. Constructive criticism is always welcomed but don't flame me too badly if you don't like it. See you all next chapter, everyone!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay, so I'm finally back from my long vacation to Europe and it was a blast for me! Anyway, I forgot to mention in the previous two chapters that I will be splitting this story up into arcs. Chapters 1-3 being the Introduction Arc. I've already made a change to the chapter title of chapter one. Also, during some of the downtime I had in Europe, I managed to write down some notes for future chapters so I could be able to write the chapter once I got back. One last thing, I plan on making Naruto and Erza's relationship a slow one so don't expect them to just immediately jump the gun and admit that they're in love with each other a few chapter into the story. Also, I'm going to try to not make Naruto overpowered in this because I feel when someone is too overpowered, they just ruin all the character development that happens in the story. Phew, that was a mouthful. Now then, enough of my ranting and on with the story. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail. Both belong to their respective owners.**

_**Her Love, His Promise.**_

_**Introductory Arc**_

_**Chapter Three**_

_**Begin.**_

A calming breeze swept through one of Konoha's many training grounds. The trees and bushes rustled, their leaves moving with the wind as they moved around. The flowers danced elegantly in the wind and the nearby sakura trees let their petals detach themselves and be carried away by wherever the wind wished them to go. A few sakura petals found their way to a training ground that was generally peaceful and hardly used by any ninja. Well, it _was _peaceful, but now it was no longer peaceful or clean for that matter. Now it was littered with spiral craters. The trees were all but left untouched as few found themselves spared by whomever's wrath they decided to face. All living organisms thought the onslaught had ended as no other sound was made. But, they were proven to be wrong as a battle cry and an explosion made itself known to the world. A small sakura petal floated through the air as it made its way to the center of the training ground. The land held its breath as petal fell upon the shoulder of this demon of a human that had decided to make this unfortunate training ground its practice area. A second passed and the demon hardly even felt the small petal that had landed on his shoulder. Instead, he gave the land one of his trademark smiles that the earth had grown to fear as it knew what was coming.

The demon punched the air as he proclaimed, "All right! One more time!"

The demon held out his hand as a blue, spiraling ball began to form in it. A swooshing sound soon followed the creation of the technique as the land braced itself once again for the impact of the spiraling, blue sphere.

"Rasengan!" he called out as he slammed the spiraling sphere down into the earth.

The blue sphere made contact with the earth and began drilling its way down before exploding in an enlarged cerulean blue sphere that shook the earth, creating yet another crater to dot the land. This is what Jiraiya had been observing for the past hour and a half. He watched a distance away as the dust cleared and revealed his sun-kissed blond haired student standing still. He made a move but soon found himself falling backwards and landing hard on his back. Jiraiya watched as his student's chest began moving up and down as he tried to unsuccessfully catch his breath. After a minute of labored breathing, the blonde's breath began to even out as he calmed down. The sun's rays beat down on the blonde mercilessly without a cloud to hinder it. Sweat cloaked the blonde as exhaustion and fatigue hit him hard. The blond tried to stand back up but winced as he moved his upper body a little.

"Damn," he muttered "looks like I really overdid it now. Sakura-chan is going to kill me if she finds out."

"That she is, Naruto." came a familiar yet pleasant voice, although he would never admit it in front of its owner.

"And Tsunade will as well if she sees you in this condition." Jiraiya shuddered visibly at the thought of Tsunade whacking the poor boy through the window of the Hokage's office, yelling at him for once again training too hard. Naruto looked up at his perverted sensei and a small grin that found its way on his face.

"Hey there, Ero-sennin. Didn't notice ya." The blonde acknowledge.

Jiraiya's eyes widened a little at his answer. If the blond didn't even feel his presence, then that meant he wad dead exhausted and that was bad for a shinobi. For a shinobi to be too tired or exhausted enough to not be able to sense or feel a potential enemy chakra signature, then it would likely mean death. That tended to happen in their line of work and Jiraiya had seen this happen more times than he would have liked to seen in his lifetime. He looked up from Naruto and got a better view of the training field he was using, or at least what was left of it. Upon closer examination revealed a tortured and battered land with chunks of land missing. Most trees looked like a small explosive tag had been placed in the center of them while others had holes in their bark that one could easily see through. Jiraiya returned his gaze back to Naruto and for a quick second it looked like one of his other most promising student. A small smile graced his lips as he shook his head from side to side. He had once found Minato like this when he was developing the Rasengan. Kushina had given him a stern lecture when she saw him walking to the hospital with the help of Jiraiya. Had Jiraiya known what was in store for his old student, he would have high-tailed it out of there as soon as possible. But of course he had to stay as he saw potential material for his novel that he was writing, only to regret his decision when Kushina had aimed the rest of her rage at him and saying he was a perverted old man that should have taught his students better. After that, she left the men with their jaws on the floor and eyes twitching. Mainly at her more "colorful" vocabulary that she decided to use in her lecture. Minato later diffused the whole situation and calmed her down and they all had a good laugh with Kushina blushing and apologizing for what she said a little.

Jiraiya was snapped out of his reminiscing at the sound of Naruto's voice. He looked down at him to see a confused expression on his face. When Naruto raised an eyebrow at him, he laughed with an embarrassed smile and rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh, heh heh, what did ya say again, Naruto?" He asked sheepishly.

Jiraiya could see Naruto's eye twitch visibly as he groaned and mumbled on about him dreaming about something perverted.

"I said, what do you want Ero-sennin?"

"Well that's simple, Naruto." Jiraiya straightened up a bit with mock superiority and looked down at the blond with a twinkle in his eye. "Tsunade has requested your presence as she has a mission for you.

"Oh come on, Ero-sennin! I just got done with my training and I tired! It's probably also a stupid D-rank mission and I'm well above those now." The blond complained.

"Is that so, then I guess you wouldn't want to go on an S-rank mission than. Too bad, and it was one that required your expertise." Naruto's eyes widened at the mention of the S-rank mission. Especially one that required his abilities. He watched his perverted sensei walk off away slowly. Unbeknownst to him, Jiraiya had a smug look on his face that he kept hidden from the blond.

"W-wait! Ero-sennin, did you say you had an S-rank mission for me?!" Jiraiya turned back to him with a wide smile on his face. Seeing this, Naruto could hardly contain his excitement. With newfound energy, he jumped up and began bombarding his teacher with questions.

"

What type of mission is it?! Is it an awesome one?! Well?!" Begged Naruto. The blond continued to bombard his sensei with questions on what type of mission the S-rank one would be. This continued for about a minute before Jiraiya eventually ran out of patience.

"Come on, Ero-sennin! You've got to tell me what kind of mission it is! Is it-"

"Shut up already, Gaki!" Jiraiya snapped. "I swear, you're this close to making me regret my decision on giving you an S-rank mission!" Jiraiya used his index finger and thumb to show a small space in between the two and indicate the amount of patience he had left. This got Naruto to shut up almost instantly. Jiraiya sighed as he calmed himself down a little. He didn't mean to snap at the boy, but one can only have so much patience. Especially with someone like Naruto. Jiraiya turned to look at the boy. Naruto was momentarily quiet, but that ever present, fox-like grin was still on his face. Jiraiya smiled at him. That's one thing he admired about the blond. He always didn't let anything keep him down for long and kept on smiling. Just like his father. _'__Like father, like son I suppose.' _Jiraiya thought with a smirk.

"Oi, Ero-sennin. You there? Hello! Earth to the perverted hermit!" yelled the blond.

Jiraiya snapped out of his musing at the sound of the blond's voice. He turned to his student and found him with his arms crossed and an annoyed expression on his face.

"So, are we gonna see Baa-chan or not?! I'm tired of waiting already and I want to know what kind of mission this is!"

"Oh fine, but first take a shower! You haven't smelled this bad since our time in Stone Country!"

Naruto winced when that particular memory came flooding back to his mind. They had once gone to Stone Country during their two-year training trip and had decided to do some heavy training there. Unfortunately, the locals didn't like them destroying the country side when Jiraiya was teaching him some new destructive jutsus. So they were kicked out. Imagine that, and this time it wasn't due to Jiraiya's peeping habits. Actually, when Naruto looked back on the incident, part of the reason why they were kicked out was because of Jiraiya peeping on the woman. Them destroying the landscape just gave the small military an actual reason to kick them out.

Naruto looked at him curiously and checked to see if what his teacher said was true. Naruto facial expression contorted and he regretted the decision to check. With a mock salute to Jiraiya, Naruto took off bounding through the forest and into the village.

Naruto arrived at his home, or rundown apartment if you wanted to get down to the specifics. When he approached his door, he took out the keys and unlocked it and stepped inside. He honestly didn't know why his door had a lock on it or why he bothered to lock it every time he left. A ninja could easily get past the lock with little difficult at all and still be silent about it. He guessed it was because he thought it gave him the illusion that he was safe when he was younger, hiding from drunk men that wanted to harm him. Fully inside now, he closed his door and the smell of ramen greeted him. He inhaled and sighed at the smell. One that he would never grow tired of. His floor was littered with instant-ramen cups and clothes were strewn all over the place. An old and beat-up looking couch was in the small living room with a very primitive looking TV in front of it. The ceiling and walls had pieces missing making the place not a pretty sight. The old, wood floor creaked and groaned on every step Naruto took. As he took in his living condition (which one could hardly call living) he felt right at home. Naruto made his way to his restroom where he stripped and turned the water on to almost a scalding heat. For some reason, he always liked very warm showers. It helped him relieve all the tension in his muscles and helped him relax. Besides, even if he did get burned by the heat of the water, Kyūbi would always heal his burns by the time he dried off. After finishing his shower, Naruto got dressed in his normal, ninja attire and made his way outside. Locking the door and checking it, he was ready to leave.

Ten minutes later found Naruto standing in front of the door to Tsunade's office. Just as he was about to knock on the door, it opened suddenly and out came Shizune who was dashing out of the office. Both of their ninja training saved the two of them from bumping into each other as they skillfully jumped back from each other to avoid collision. Both had a surprised look on their face as they saw the other jump back in surprise.

"N-Naruto! I'm sorry I didn't see you there!" Shizune stammered in surprise.

"Oh, it's fine Shizune. Neither did I really..." Naruto replied while he scratched the back of his head, grinning sheepishly.

Shizune took a breath to relax her nerves and regain her composer. "Well in any case, I'm glad you came. I was just about to come get you for a mission that Tsunade-sama has requested that you take on."

"Really?" Naruto said in surprise. "Ero-sennin was telling me about Baa-chan having an S-rank mission for me."

Shizune looked dumbfounded at him. Not only was he aware of a mission that Tsunade had just recently told her to get him for, but also that the mission itself was an S-rank one. She was more shocked at the latter than the former, but still shocked nonetheless. She was just about to voice her opinion when a roar came from the office.

"Shizune! Is that Naruto out there with you?!" Tsunade bellowed.

"H-Hai!"

"Good! Send him in here."

Shizune sighed as she gave Naruto an apologetic look. Tsunade had been on edge lately by something that involved Elders. Even though she was Tsunade's assistant, not even she was aware of what the Elders and Tsunade had talked about.

Naruto gave Shizune a grin before moving past her into Tsunade's office. The sight that greeted him caused him to raise an eyebrow as he saw his mother figure with a smirk on her face and not a single bottle of sake on her desk. He knew that Shizune never liked it when Tsunade drank, so Tsunade would tend to hide her bottles of sake when Shizune was present. However, now that she wasn't and the door was closed, leaving him in the room with a rather sober looking Tsunade, he began to worry.

"Naruto since you're here early, I take it that Jiraiya has told you a little about the S-rank mission that our client has personally requested for you to do."

"Yeah, Baa-chan! I can't believe I'm finally going on an S-rank mission by myself! It's about time that someone recognizes the future Hokage being able to take on tough missions!" Naruto exclaimed as he pumped his fist in the air.

A tick mark appeared on Tsunade's forehead at the mention of Naruto's nickname for here. She grabbed the closet thing, which happens to be a book, and flung it at the younger blond. The book hit him clear in the head and he fell down comically with a loud thud. Tsunade smiled at her handiwork as Naruto leaped back up on his feet, rubbing his forehead.

"OW! What the heck was that for, Baa-chan?!" Naruto whined.

Another tic mark appeared on Tsunade's forehead. "What do think it's for, Gaki?! I've already explained to you a thousand not to call me 'Baa-chan'!" She scolded. "And you still wonder why Sakura calls you an idiot." Tsunade finished while shaking her head.

"It's not my fault, I just can't help it sometimes." He mumbled softly.

"Anyway," Tsunade cleared her throat, "now that you're here I take it that you want to know the mission details."

Completely forgetting his previous injury, Naruto gazed at his surrogate mother with stars in his eyes. "You bet I do! So, do I get to hunt down some super strong criminal?! Oh, I know, I get to go beat up a group of strong bandits! Yeah, that must be it! I-"

Naruto's ranting was cut off by a book that hit him with deadly force in the stomach. He doubled over while trying to keep the contents of his stomach from spilling out. He looked up to see Tsunade with an irritated look on her face along with a few eye twitches.

"Next time I'll be sure to use something much more harder than a book, gaki." She said coldly. "Do you understand now?" Naruto nodded his head at her frantically before getting back into a casual stance. Tsunade's tone and expression then became serious as her face hardened.

"Naruto, before you I give you the mission details, I need to know of you're absolutely sure you want to do this mission. There's a chance that you could be gone for more than a couple of months or possible a year on this particular mission. Are you absolutely sure you want to take on this mission?"

Naruto did not expect to hear what she just told him. '_I could be gone for more than a few months? Is Baa-chan serious?' _Naruto stared long and hard at his feet while he contemplated what she told him. On one hand, he would be going on an S-rank mission, something that would bring him closer to his dream: becoming Hokage. However, on the other hand, he would be gone for what Tsunade expected to be a couple of months or more. He would really miss his friends and there was always the off-chance of him not coming back to them alive. As he struggled with his answer, Tsunade couldn't help but take notice and decided to reassure him.

"Naruto, to help you make your choice, I can almost promise you that you will more than likely come back to your home alive. All you're going to be doing is spending some time in a village very far away from ours. Your job is to simply represent us and build relationships with that village. Something that I think will be quite easy for you considering you can go around and make friends with almost anyone with hardly any trouble at all."

Naruto's head snapped up in surprise. He was greeted with a soft and reassuring smile on her face as she rested her head on her hands that were folded.

"Baa-chan... I still don't understand why it has to be me. Wouldn't someone else be better for this type of mission," he asked softly.

A vein appeared on her forehead at the mention of his nickname for her but she easily suppressed her anger towards the name. She continued to gaze at Naruto with a smile that a mother would use to reassure her child. "Naruto, the client personally requested that it would be you and only you who did this mission. Besides, even I fully agree with the client on this. You're the best possible ninja for this job and even if you weren't personally selected and it was available to anyone, I would choose you right off the bat."

Naruto smiled at her words then gave on of his trademark, fox-like grins to her. "You're right, Baa-chan! If I want to become Hokage, then I'll have to take on every mission out there to prove that I'm worth everyone's acknowledgment and respect!" He shouted as he punched the air with enthusiasm.

Tsunade could help but let a grin slip on her face; what could she say, the boy's smiles were noninfectious. "So, I take it that your accepting the mission?" With a nod from Naruto she grabbed the file that she just recently created and began reading off the mission details. "Let's get this out in the open first off. As I said earlier, you're going to be going to a village that is very far away from here. To be precise, it's in a completely different dimension that Jiraiya accidentally discovered about ten or so years ago." Tsunade's face hardens as she speaks in a tone of seriousness. "Keep in mind Naruto that only myself, you and Jiraiya are the only people who know about this in the entire village."

Naruto looked like he was about to yell out something but with a raised hand in the air, she quickly silenced him. "And for now I want to keep this a secret between the three of us until I give you permission to tell others in the village about this." With a quick, affirmative nod from Naruto she continued. "Now then, the name of this country that you are going to is called Fiore, or the Fiore Kingdom. In that country is the village, or town as they call it there, named Magnolia. Before I should go into further detail about the mission, I should first tell you that this world is home populated by normal people and those who can use Magic."

The sound of Naruto's jaw hitting the floor could be heard throughout the room. "Y-you're joking, Baa-chan! People can actually use Magic there?!"

"Yes, Naruto, people in that world can actually use magic which from what I've heard from Jiraiya, it is fairly similar to chakra. I would explain to you how Mages are able to use magic like we are able to use chakra, but I'm afraid that I don't know how they do it. You'll have to ask Jiraiya or maybe a Mage to find out how Mages are able use Magic. Anyway, just like the ninja villages, Mages also have a gathering place called guilds. Keep in mind, these guilds act very similar to ninja villages but are smaller and only a place that Mages can work at. Are you still with me, Naruto?" Surprisingly, the blond was still following her and nodded at her question.

"Good. Now then, Magnolia Town, as I stated before, is the town which you will be going to. In that town is the guild known as Fairy Tail." A snicker escaped the blond before he was silenced by stern look from the older blond. "The Third Master of Fairy Tail is our client and the guild that you will be building relationships with. And from what I've heard about the guild through Jiraiya's stories is it is type of place that you will absolutely love, Naruto. Not to mention, I can almost guarantee that you will fit in there just fine. Any questions?"

Naruto racked his head as he attempted to think of a question. A light bulb clicked in his head as he berated himself for not thinking of it earlier.

"Yeah, I've got one Baa-chan. Just how the heck am I supposed to get there if it is in a completely different dimension?"

"Don't worry, Naruto. I've already got that covered." A familiar came from behind said blond.

Naruto turned around to see Jiraiya leaning against the door frame with a small smile on his face.

"Naruto," Tsunade called getting the blond's attention back on her. "Now that your question has been answered, I believe it's time for you to pack."

"When do I leave?"

"Immediately. Once you finish packing you are to report back her at once." Her face then softened. "Which means that you say any goodbyes to your friends. I'm sorry but you don't have enough time and we're already running late."

Naruto's eyes widened before his head dropped and his gaze turned to his feet, eyes being covered by his hair.

"I...see. Thank you for telling me." Naruto said uncharacteristically sad.

Tsunade could have sworn that she felt her heart break at that moment. She watched him turn around and walk out her office. Jiraiya sighed as he stepped into the office and close the door behind him. He stared at his old teammate as she hung her head in sadness. He saw what looked to be like tears (which he assumed they were) slide down her face and fall onto one of the many pieces of paperwork on her desk.

"Jiraiya..." She spoke, her voice cracking. "If we're doing the right thing, then why does it hurt so much? Why does it hurt so much to send him away if it's for his own good? Why?" She asked tearfully, almost begging.

"I don't know, Tsunade. But I do know this is the best that we can do for him. Fairy Tail will let him know how it feels to be apart of a family; how it feels to be loved by one as well. They will accept him unconditionally into their family and not judge him for being a Jinchūriki. Being in a new world and in a new place will give him the chance to have a fresh start where no one knows of his past. As long as he is happy, I'm fine with that." He said reassuringly as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Tsunade looked up at her teammate as she dried her tears and gave him a weak smile.

"Thank you, Jiraiya. I really needed that." Jiraiya nodded and began walking out of the room. He stopped mid-way before looking over his shoulder, back at her. She raised a questioning eyebrow at his actions.

"You know, I just thought up of an interesting plot for a new story. When Naruto gets back, I'll have to ask him about his adventures that he's bound to have. That way I can have a template to use for when I start making up characters and details for the book." Tsunade smiled at him as she refocused her attention back on her paperwork.

"As long as it has nothing perverted in there than I'm fine with it and I'm sure Naruto will be as well."

Jiraiya chuckled nervously at her disguised threat and waved a reassuring hand.

"Don't worry Tsunade-hime! I won't stoop that low." Tsunade snorted as she looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. Her expression saying 'yeah right. I don't believe you.'

"Hey!" Jiraiya said offended. Tsunade just shook her head she focused back on her paper work.

Jiraiya sighed as he turned back around to face the door. "I just thought of a good title for the book. How does: _"A Ninja Among Fairies"_ sound?"

Without looking up, she replied. "That sounds like a good title, Jiraiya." She said with a smile.

Jiraiya only nodded his head as he left Tsunade's office to leave her to her job.

_**Het Love, His Promise.**_

_**Introductory Arc: Finished.**_

**A/N: Ah, finally done and I believe that was my longest chapter yet. Just barley beat Chapter Two by a couple of hundred words. Sorry for the late update, had a bit of writers block. Hopefully I'll get the next chapter up sooner than it took for me to do this one. As always, constructive criticism is welcomed and I hope you are enjoying the story so far and I'll see you guys next chapter! See ya, everyone!**


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